Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Electricity Generation

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Distribution Network Operators’ plans to upgrade local systems will meet additional power needs should their electric vehicle and domestic heat pump targets be met by 2030.

Lord Callanan: The regulation of electricity networks is the responsibility of Ofgem as the independent energy regulator and the Distribution Network Operators. Ofgem use price controls, known as RIIO, to determine the revenues that Distribution Network Operators recover, the investment they make and the performance standards they must deliver. As part of this process, Distribution Network Operators forecast likely take-up of electric vehicles and heat pumps. In December, the Distribution Network Operators published their final business plans for the upcoming electricity distribution price control due to commence in April 2023. Within these plans, Distribution Network Operators have committed to addressing the barriers to electric vehicle uptake and have forecast heat pump deployment that is compatible with Government’s ambition to deploy 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. Ofgem is working to enable future changes via various mechanisms, including a Net Zero Re-Opener, whereby DNOs can seek additional funding for Net Zero related projects, such as catering for greater uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Carbon Emissions

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what, if any, advice have they received from the Chief Scientific Adviser about the implications of increases in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere on a warming planet, in light of the highest recorded concentration of 419 parts per million at the Mauna Loa Observatory in 2021.

Lord Callanan: Both the Government and its Chief Scientific Advisors are informed by the latest scientific evidence, as presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Panel’s reports set out in detail how, as carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere rise, global temperatures are also expected to rise, with severe impacts to people and nature.

Coal: Spoil Heaps

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what dates during the past five years they held meetings with the Government of Wales to discuss the (1) safety, and (2) management, of National Coal Board coal tips; and who was present at those meetings.

Lord Callanan: Ministers and officials from Her Majesty’s Government and the Welsh Government meet regularly to discuss a range of issues including the safety and management of coal tips. In addition, the UK Coal Authority has been working alongside the Welsh Government on its programme of tip risk assessments and inspections.

Department for International Trade

Iron and Steel: Exports

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they will take to increase exports of UK steel.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: The Department for International Trade recently published our refreshed Export Strategy with an action-led 12-point plan. We have introduced a whole new range of support measures to help exporters thrive in the global market, internationalising key trading sectors, and raising the UK’s exporting culture in the long-term.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Females

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Pakistani Minorities Abductions, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Religious Minority Women and Girls in Pakistan, published on 25 November 2021; and what plans they have to implement its recommendations to assist the government Pakistan in (1) collecting comprehensive data toestablish the number of (a) abductions, (b) forcible conversions, and (c) forcible marriages, of religious minority women and girls in that country, and (2) reforms to the training of the police and judiciary, including using the training developed by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government welcomes the publication of the All Party Parliamentary Group's recent report. I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia], spoke at the launch event. The UK strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns about freedom of religion or belief and women and girls' rights at a senior level with the Government of Pakistan. During my visit to Pakistan on 23 and 24 June 2021, I [Lord Ahmad] met Prime Minister Khan, as well as other senior government ministers, and discussed our concerns. I met interfaith leaders to understand the situation of Pakistani minorities, particularly the issue of forced conversion and marriage. Most recently, I discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, on 28 November 2021. The FCDO funds programmes in Pakistan that directly address early and forced marriages and gender-based violence. The UK Government has supported the Government of Pakistan in setting up eight child courts to provide child-sensitive justice to children who come in contact with the law, including victims of child abuse, trafficking and child marriage.

BBC World Service

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of the BBC World Service in supporting UK international diplomatic objectives, in particular in relation to establishing and developing new relationships following the UK's departure from the EU.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We strongly value the work of the BBC World Service in promoting our values globally through its independent and impartial broadcasting. As part of the announcement on the BBC's Licence Fee, the Culture Secretary made it clear that the BBC should continue to make a substantive investment from the licence fee into the World Service to ensure that it continues to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - in English and through its language services. The BBC World Service now reaches 364 million people weekly, an over 40% increase since the FCDO-funded World2020 programme began in 2016 which is invaluable for our soft power and influence globally.

BBC World Service: Finance

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement of a two-year freeze in the BBC Licence Fee, what assurances they can provide on future funding of the BBC World Service; and what assessment they have made of whether planned funding will be sufficient to sustain the services it provides.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government recognises the vital role that the BBC World Service plays across the globe. As part of the announcement on the BBC's licence fee the Culture Secretary made it clear that the BBC should continue to make a substantive investment from the licence fee into the World Service to ensure that it continues to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - in English and through its language services. In 2021-22, the FCDO is providing £94.4 million to the World Service to fund 12 language services alongside an additional £8 million to tackle disinformation and develop digital platforms. The FCDO is committed to providing grant-in-aid funding for the BBC World Service through to 2025. Final allocations will be confirmed after the conclusion of the FCDO business planning process.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Baroness Buscombe: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 19 January (HL5097), why they are unable to provide an answer as to when they expect tosee the overall figure for benefit fraud reduce back to levels seen prior to March 2020.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department is determined to take decisive action and bring the collective weight of government to bear on this growing challenge We stated in the recent Treasury Minutes (Government Response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-Second to the Twenty Sixth reports from Session 2021-22), that following confirmation from Her Majesty’s Treasury on the Department’s funding, we will be setting our Fraud and Error targets shortly.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water Companies: Pollution

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Benyon on 19 January (HL Deb, col 1650), whether Ofwat has powers to insist that the remuneration and bonuses of individual water company executives should be limited in cases where raw sewage is allowed to persistently pollute rivers and waterways.

Lord Benyon: The pollution of rivers and waterways is unacceptable. We have been clear that water companies must do more to tackle their pollution, and if we do not see adequate improvements we will not hesitate to take further action.The Board Leadership, Transparency and Governance principles issued by Ofwat set out expectations on transparency of executive pay. Ofwat now requires water companies to meet the objectives of the principles, and to demonstrate the link between their performance and performance-pay for executive teams as required by their license conditions.

Food: Waste

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to recommendations set out in the National Food Strategy published on 15 July 2021, what plans they have to commission a dedicated strategy that (1) tackles food waste and its climate impact, and (2) includes mandatory food waste reporting.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Resources and Waste Strategy sets out how the Government will work with WRAP to address both supply chain and household food waste from farm to fork and included a commitment to consult on introducing mandatory reporting of food waste. The Government will publish its response to the National Food Strategy in due course.

Food: Waste

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for a public information campaign to increase public understanding of the impact of food waste on (1) UK, and (2) global, emissions.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We support Food Waste Action Week, and the year-round consumer campaigns delivered by WRAP to reduce and prevent food waste. These include Love Food Hate Waste which seeks to help citizens reduce their food waste and make the connection with climate change including using the banner Wasting food feeds climate change. The current campaigns do not differentiate between UK and global emissions but look to make the broad connection between food waste and climate change and empower citizens to throw away less.

Home Office

Borders: Northern Ireland

Lord Green of Deddington: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 24 January (HL5259), what immigration controls will be put in place under the proposed ETA system at (1) sea crossings between the Republic of Ireland and the UK and (2) sea crossings between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Common Travel Area (CTA) supports the long-standing principle of movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Ireland.As now, the UK will not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA. There are no border controls for travel within the UK including from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Development Orders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage councils to implement Local Development Orders to allowfor the redevelopment of land near existing public transport for house building.

Lord Greenhalgh: A Local Development Order (LDO) is a flexible tool a local planning authority can use to promote and permit development, including for housing, without the need for individual planning applications. To encourage their use we have prepared guidance which is set out in our planning practice guidance (attached) at: www.gov.uk/guidance/when-is-permission-required#types-of-area-wide-permission. The Planning Advisory Service has also published guidance for councilson preparing Local Development Orders which is available (attached) to view at:www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/LDO%20Guidance%20Document%20March%202019.pdf.When is permission required (pdf, 789.2KB)LDO Guidance (pdf, 1089.0KB)

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans theyhave to set up a national oversight mechanism for the Grenfell Inquiry tomonitor the implementation of recommendations from (1) inquests, and (2) inquiries.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government accepted, in principle, all of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 recommendations for central government. I chair the quarterly Grenfell Inquiry Recommendations Board to monitor progress against these recommendations and a tracker is published on gov.uk every 6 months.The bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy deserve justice, not only through the Inquiry and police investigations, but also through Government creating a legacy of lasting change and reforms to building safety. Our Building Safety Bill will make that a reality.

Social Services: Expenditure

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the annual spend of local authorities in England is devoted to funding social care.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Revenue Outturn statistics for 2020-21 published (attached) on 27 January 2022 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing-england-2020-to-2021-final-outturn, show that expenditure by local authorities on social care was £31.6 billion. This includes expenditure that has been funded by NHS transfers to local government, notably £2.4 billion from the Better Care Fund. This is equivalent to 28% of the sum of total revenue expenditure and Better Care Fund transfers in 2020-21.   Local authorities revenue expenditure (pdf, 826.3KB)

Cabinet Office

Regulation: Northern Ireland

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government which provisions of the proposed Brexit Freedoms Bill (1) will, and (2) will not, apply to Northern Ireland.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is theterritorial extent to the proposed Brexit Freedoms Bill.

Lord True: Retained EU law applies in the whole of the UK. Accordingly, any legislation that allows for the amendment of retained EU law will need to make the appropriate provision for Northern Ireland. Any legislation to address REUL is likely to have a UK extent. This is consistent with other Brexit legislation such as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill and European Union (Future Relationship) Bill.

Business: Coronavirus

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Agnew of Oulton on 24 January (HL Deb, col 21) where he stated that "total fraud lossacross government is estimated at £29 billion a year", whether they will provide a list containing details of that loss.

Lord True: The 2019-20 Fraud Landscape Report Bulletin, (which predates the pandemic), states that our best estimate of total fraud and error losses to Government are between £29bn and £52bn per year. This comprises the published estimates for fraud and error loss in tax and welfare, and an estimate for the rest of the system where the level is less well known. For the 'rest of Government' (i.e. outside DWP and HMRC) the proportion of the estimate is between £2.5bn and £25bn a year. The ‘rest of Government’ estimate is overseen by an independent Oversight Board and built from a group of completed fraud and error measurement exercises done over the past 5 years.

Cabinet Office and Prime Minister: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government how manyspecial advisers were engaged with supporting the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office in (1) 1995, (2) 2005, (3) 2015, and (4) currently.

Lord True: Information about special advisers is published on GOV.UK. To assist the noble Lord: the 2021 data is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1002880/Annual_Report_on_Special_Advisers_2021_-_Online_Publication.pdf,the 2015 data is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486829/List_of_Special_Advisers_in_post_at_17_December_2015.pdf,the 2005 data is available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo050721/wmstext/50721m12.htm,and the 1995 data is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336889/9th_report.pdf. Special advisers only represented 0.06 per cent of the Civil Service pay bill in 2021. They protect the integrity and impartiality of the civil service by clearly separating out the provision of political advice to Ministers. Annual Report on Special Advisers 2021 (pdf, 152.9KB)List of Special Advisers in post at 17 December 20 (pdf, 262.8KB)Defining the Boundaries within the Executive (pdf, 513.7KB)

Treasury

Investment Income: Property

Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of income tax receipts is accounted for by income tax on property income.

Baroness Penn: The information on income tax is not readily available, however, information published by HMRC about taxable incomes is as follows. The 2018-19 Survey of Personal Incomes provides an estimate for income from property in Table 3.7 and total income estimates are provided in Table 3.3. Income from property was estimated at £21.5 billion in 2018-19 and total income across all income types was estimated at £1,120 billion. Income from property therefore represents around 2 per cent of total income.

Economic Situation: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the strength of the economy in Northern Ireland.

Baroness Penn: The latest official estimate of regional GDP produced by the Office for National Statistics indicates that Northern Ireland real GDP increased by 0.3% in 2019. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency publish an experimental quarterly Composite Economic Index, which provides a more recent measure of economic activity. The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index was 2.3% above average 2019 levels in 2021 Q3. By comparison, UK GDP was 1.3% lower in 2021Q3 than average 2019 levels, although the measures are not produced on a fully equivalent basis. The labour market data from HRMC’s PAYE RTI provides a timelier and more comparable indicator of economic performance across areas of the UK. In December 2021, the number of paid employees in Northern Ireland was 2.7% above February 2020 levels, an increase of 20,000 employees. This is above the average UK employee growth of 1.4% and is the highest growth rate out of all 12 nations and regions in the UK.  The latest data also indicates that the unemployment rate for Northern Ireland in the 3 months to November 2021 was 3.1%, lower than the UK unemployment rate of 4.1%. Northern Ireland will also continue to benefit from the UK wide Covid-19 Government support, including: a reduced rate of VAT for tourism and hospitality until 31 March 2022; continued access to Government-guaranteed finance for small and medium sized businesses via the Recovery Loan scheme in place to 30 June 2022; and the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) for small and medium-sized employers. The UK Government is also providing substantial funding to the Northern Ireland Executive. At Autumn Budget we confirmed the NI Executive was receiving an extra £2.3 billion of Barnett-based funding this year – taking total block grant funding for the Northern Ireland Executive in 2021-22 to £15.9 billion. On top of this, we have now confirmed a further £150 million so the Executive have the certainty they requested to spend more money this year in advance of the usual process for confirming final Barnett consequentials. Over the next three years, the 2021 Spending Review provided the Executive with the largest real terms block grants since devolution.

Monetary Policy

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contingency plans they have put in place since the temporary liquidity shortage in March 2020 for the management of subsequent liquidity shortages.

Baroness Penn: As the Chancellor has made clear publicly before, the government will continue to use the markets as its primary source of financing. HM Treasury and the Bank of England (“the Bank”) announced in March 2020 that the government’s long-established Ways and Means (W&M) facility could, if necessary, play a role in providing a short-term source of additional liquidity to the government to smooth its cashflows and support the orderly functioning of markets, through the period of disruption from Covid-19. It was agreed that any use of the W&M facility was to be repaid as soon as possible before the end of the year. The W&M facility is the government’s long-established overdraft at the Bank. Ordinarily, a standing balance of around £400m is maintained in the W&M facility to support Exchequer cash management. That remained the case throughout 2020-21 (a period during which the W&M facility had not been drawn on). HM Treasury, the Debt Management Office and the Bank continue to cooperate closely to support the orderly functioning of the gilt and sterling money markets.

Banks: Closures

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help ensure that local bank branches remain open to enable vulnerable people to have access to cash.

Baroness Penn: The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, which is why it has committed to legislate to protect access to cash.Last year, the Government held an Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The Government will set out next steps in due course.Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.Regarding bank branches, guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.Alternative options for access to banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Red Diesel: Fraud

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecutions have taken place for the fraudulent use of red diesel in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Baroness Penn: As HMRC does not record a specific offence when recording prosecutions, it is not possible to identify cases which were prosecuted for the fraudulent use of red diesel. However, information on the number of prosecutions for hydrocarbon oil related offences is available and can be found in the table below: Financial YearNumber of prosecutions for Hydrocarbon Oil related offences2011-1252012-13112013-14102014-1572015-16252016-17262017-18172018-1972019-20142020-212

Stamp Duties

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Stamp Duty returns to determine the number of house purchases in the last five recorded years by (1) first-time buyers, (2) home owners who are not first-time buyers, and (3) landlords, second home owners and other investors in residential property.

Baroness Penn: HMRC publishes quarterly and annual Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) statistics. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21 there were 5,284,000 residential SDLT transactions. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.Of these, 4,779,000 were transactions by individuals.The SDLT relief for first time buyers was introduced in 2017. Since introduction, 576,900 transactions have claimed this relief. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.This figure does not accurately represent the number of first-time buyers because the temporary SDLT holiday, which ran from July 2020 until September 2021, meant that it was not necessary for first time buyers to claim this relief. In addition, first time buyers who purchase a property above £500,000 or below £125,000 are unable to claim the relief and will not be reflected in these statistics.The Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings SDLT Surcharge (HRAD) was introduced in 2016 and applies to transactions where the purchaser already owns property. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21, 1,127,500 transactions were liable to HRAD. This figure includes transactions that would subsequently sell their previous main residence and receive a refund of the surcharge paid. 115,400 transactions were refunded between 2016-17 and 2020-21.

Fraud

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to tackle economic crime, and (2) to prevent fraudulent companies from accessing public funds.

Baroness Penn: The Government has set out a comprehensive programme for addressing economic crime with the private sector through the jointly published Economic Crime Plan. The Government is making measurable progress in delivering the Economic Crime Plan and is on course to deliver 49 of the 52 actions it sets out. The Government published a Statement of Progress in May 2021 updating the public and stakeholders on the Plan’s implementation. The steps taken to prevent fraudulent companies accessing public funds depend on the nature of the public funding. Common due diligence approaches include Spotlight, the government’s online automated due-diligence tool, fraud prevention data analytics, and Credit Reference Agency due diligence services.

Boats: Sales

Lord Hain: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of the analysis by the Boat Group, which found that UK (1) new, and (2) used, boat sales grew by 9 per cent in 2020; and what assessment they have made of the link, if any, between the purchase of such yachts and the payment of furlough money.

Baroness Penn: The objective of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was to support businesses to preserve employer-employee matches by providing a mechanism to pay the wages of furloughed employees. Through easing the financial burden, the CJRS aimed to support jobs, reduce the risk of permanent business closures (supporting those that had temporarily ceased or reduced trading), and reduce the risk of large losses in incomes, through wage support to furloughed employees. In doing these things, the CJRS sought to reduce the risk of long-term labour market scarring, maintain the UK economy’s productive capacity through the crisis, and facilitate and support a smoother economic recovery.

Interest Rates

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact on the economy of a rise in interest rates of one per cent.

Baroness Penn: Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England and this includes decisions on Bank Rate and quantitative easing. The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy, so the Government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy. The Government continually monitors economic developments, including any changes to the interest rate, to consider the impact of these developments on businesses and households.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Standards

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the disparity in broadband connectivity between urban and rural areas.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government is investing £5 billion through Project Gigabit to support gigabit broadband coverage in areas not covered by commercial roll-out, adding to the 600,000 homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas already covered by gigabit broadband with our support.It is the Government's view that the best way to achieve nationwide gigabit coverage and eliminate the disparity in broadband connectivity between urban and rural areas is by creating a competition-friendly environment in areas where deployment is commercially viable. This will allow public subsidy to focus on the 20% of the country where commercial deployment is unlikely.This approach is working. Today, we are on track for the biggest build in UK history. At present, 65% of premises can access a gigabit-capable connection, a huge leap forward from July 2019, when gigabit coverage was just 8%.Our procurements are prioritising delivery to rural, hard-to-reach premises and to those with the lowest broadband speeds. To date, we have launched procurements targeting rural parts of Cumbria, County Durham, Northumberland, Dorset, and Cambridgeshire. Further information on the procurement approach and timeframes can be found in our latest Project Gigabit Delivery Update.As part of Project Gigabit the Government is also investing up to £210 million in the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme to support rural communities with the cost of installing new gigabit-capable connections. The scheme provides a micro-grant of up to £1,500 for residents and up to £3,500 for businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband.The scheme enables those communities and businesses in rural areas not in line for commercial rollout, and those that do not want to wait for Project Gigabit procurements, to get more immediate help with the costs of installing a gigabit-capable connection. Further information is available on the gigabit voucher website including eligibility criteria and how to apply for the scheme.

Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the rollout of the mobile phone Shared Rural Network will be fully delivered by 2025

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Shared Rural Network remains on track and both the Government and the mobile network operators remain confident that their combined coverage is expected to be delivered to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025, with areas around the UK starting to see improvements to 4G coverage long before completion. The four operators have already commenced work on the first element of the Shared Rural Network which is funded by the industry, and are on track to eliminate the majority of partial not-spots - areas where there is currently coverage from at least one, but not all, operators - by mid-2024. Coverage upgrades in many partial not-spot areas are already being delivered, with work to improve coverage in other areas in progress. The 2021 Ofcom Connected Nations report, published in December, demonstrates increased coverage across the whole UK by the mobile network operators, including 46 deployments towards their Shared Rural Network commitments.